Four more participants have been added to the sixteen man heavyweight tournament, TOTAL ELIMINATION 2004, which will take place on April 25th, 2004 from the Saitama Super Arena in Japan. The event is scheduled to debut on North American pay per view on same day delay.

Newly Added Participants:

Kevin "The Monster" Randleman

Murilo "Ninja" Rua

Ron "H20" Waterman

Yoshiki Takahashi

Previously Announced Participants:

Mark "The Hammer" Coleman

Hirotaka Yokoi

Paulo Cesar "Giant" Silva

Sergei Kharitonov

Fedor Emelianenko

Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira

Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic

"The Texas Crazy Horse" Heath Herring

Stefan "Blitz" Leko

Henry "Sentoryu" Miller

Two of the previously announced competitors have dropped out---"Ice Cold" Igor Vovchanchyn due to injury and Sylvester "The Predator" Terkay for personal reasons.

One of the most successful amateur wrestlers to make the transition to mixed martial arts, Kevin "The Monster" Randleman was a three time All-American and two time national wrestling champion at Ohio State University. He enters the tournament as a PRIDE FC veteran and as the UFC's former world heavyweight champion, having won the title with a win against Pete Williams at UFC 23: Ultimate Japan 2. Along with Mark "The Hammer" Coleman, he is the second representative from the Hammer House Gym in this 16-man tournament.

Murilo "Ninja" Rua is the official heavyweight representative in the tournament for the Chute Boxe Vale Tudo team of Brazil. With Chute Boxe's Wanderlei Silva having won the 2003 middleweight tournament, "Ninja" is looking to make it a sweep and continue Chute Boxe dominance!

With a mixed martial arts record of 10-2, the 6'2, 250 lbs Ron "H20" Waterman is one of the most powerful men in the sport. His strength coupled with his wrestling and submission abilities makes this Colorado native one of the toughest match-ups in the tournament.

A mixed martial arts veteran with nearly thirty wins in the Pancrase organization, Yoshiki Takahashi blends a solid stand up game with an array of submissions. Among this heavyweight fighter's list of career victories is a win over Wallid Ismail at UFC 12: Judgment Day.

The final two remaining participants as well as the match-ups for the opening round will be announced soon. The schedule for the tournament will be as follows:

PRIDE FC 16-Man Heavyweight Tournament

TOTAL ELIMINATION 2004

April 25, 2004

Saitama Super Arena

(Opening Round)

CRITICAL COUNTDOWN 2004

June 20, 2004

Saitama Super Arena

(Second Round)

FINAL CONFLICT 2004

August 15, 2004

Saitama Super Arena

(Semi-Finals and Finals)

PRIDE FC: TOTAL ELIMINATION 2004 will premiere on North American pay per view through iNDEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH NETWORK, UrbanXtra, TVN1, Bell Express Vu, and Viewer's Choice Canada on Sunday, April 25th, 2004. The premiere time is 9:00pm EST, 6:00pm PST and the count down show is at 8:30pm EST, 5:30pm PST. For additional replay times, please contact your pay per view provider or pridefc.com.